Prospect in the Spotlight (Sept 4-5): Charlie Cleveland

Introduction

Tuesday, September 1st, American heavyweight prospect Charlie Cleveland will be in action for Dana White’s Contender Series, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Gabriel Lourenco. He will be looking for another win, as Cleveland looks to secure a UFC contract. He represents Demolition Fight Team, a smaller camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”

Strengths

Power Striking: Cleveland is a big, powerful guy that likes to throw on the feet. He has solid kicking ability, but it’s his hands that do the most damage. He has a solid jab he can sit behind and start off his combos. He also has solid ground-and-pound ability, showing he can strike on the feet and the mat. Four of his six wins come by way of knockout.

Athleticism: Cleveland is a former collegiate football player and it shows in the cage. Cleveland is very fast for a man his size, as well as explosive and light on his feet. It aids him closing the distance and keeping out of shooting distance as best he can. That kind of lateral ability is something a lot of heavyweights can do nearly as efficiently.

Need Improvement

Counter-Wrestling: Cleveland’s football background definitely makes it hard for him to wrestle, but once an opponent can lock him up and wrestle him down, that’s where Cleveland can struggle. His one pro loss came to now-UFC fighter RJ Harris who was able to get Cleveland down and overwhelm him. Harris was then able to wear him out and slap on a keylock submission to finish the fight.

Outlook

UFC Prelim Fighter: Cleveland has the benefit of being a high-level athlete in a division that often lacks lots of high-level athletes. Those are usually the most successful fighters at heavyweight. Cleveland has big-time power and is not small for the weight class, which also helps. There may be a ceiling on him given the counter-wrestling issues we’ve discussed, but again, his athleticism and power could counteract that. Cleveland at the very least will be a serviceable 50-50 fighter on the UFC roster. He could surprise us, though, and sniff around the top-15 as well.